Many people who are not very versed in theology will confidently say that the Orthodox Church differs from other Christian churches in that there are many icons. This is partly correct, only the Orthodox Church has preserved the tradition of icon veneration, while other faiths have lost it. The fact that the tradition originally existed is confirmed by ancient traditions.
For example, the origin of the icon of Jesus Christ, which is now called the “Miraculous Savior,” is known. Miraculous image - means not made by human hands. It is believed that this image appeared when Jesus wiped himself with a towel, which he then handed over to the king of the Hagarian land. This king believed in Christ in absentia and asked to heal him. Christ did not go on such a journey, but he gave the towel that he wiped (in the Church Slavonic - “ubrus”) to the servants who came and ordered him to be taken to the king for healing. On this towel, the image quite clearly appeared. The peculiarity of this image is that only the face is visible: the shoulders and arms, which, as a rule, are depicted on the icons, are missing here.
The second icon was the image of the Mother of God, made by one of the evangelists.
The debate about the necessity and justification of icons has been going on for many centuries. What is an icon? Why do they pray and worship them? Is this appropriate? Or is this another modern form of idolatry? Are the icons of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God so important, or can you do without them?
Oddly enough, you can do without any difficulty. You can pray without icons, without the image of the cross and anywhere. The absence of icons does not stop crying out to God. Icons are only images, reminders dear to heart. As if his mother had left or died, and she put his photo on the shelf. After all, no one would have found it strange? And if mom talked with her boy, this would not seem surprising. No one would suspect this woman of attachment to a piece of paper. So the icon of the Lord Jesus Christ is not an object of worship at all. No one prays for the icon, all prayers are addressed only to God, and the icons are only reminders of Him. If someone prays precisely the icon, then it is only their personal errors, the Orthodox Church does not teach this.
Why then are the icons of Jesus Christ so revered? The answer is simple: reverence for God himself is expressed in reverence for His images. All people store photos of their loved ones in an album or frame them in a frame and hang them on the wall. Whereas a newspaper with photos of strangers we can easily throw away. The veneration of icons has a similar nature.
The icons of Jesus Christ are usually placed on the main place of the family icon corner and any church iconostasis. In any case, it should be so according to the rules. In some temples there is a special icon of Jesus Christ, the value of which is even higher than the usual icon. This is a miraculous image. Of course, God performs a miracle. But people remember before which they prayed for a solution to the problem, and go a second time to pray here. Canonically, this is pointless, but can be considered a good folk tradition.
The icons are revered in Orthodoxy, but these are not idols, but a reminder of paradise and its saints.